| The Online Seller | Vol. 3, Issue 10 |
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Tactical advice for dealing with 'feedback terrorists.'
by Danna Crawford
Receiving negative feedback can be very upsetting, especially when you feel it's been given unfairly.
I've been selling on eBay since 1997, and I've had my fair share of negative feedback over the years. Griff from eBay Radio refers to negative feedback as a seller's "badge of honor," and I tend to agree with him. Read story.
Selling to Online Newbies
A little extra patience and guidance can foster customer loyalty.
by Dennis L. Prince
Back to Basics, Part 3
Your title represents the most valuable real estate on eBay.
by Janelle Elms
Business Blogs That Work, Part 2
How a blog can make you rich(er)
by Brad and Debra Schepp
Expose Your Items' True Worth
Auctiva Image Hosting takes guess work out of managing your listing photos.
Online Marketing on the Cheap
3 simple ways to increase traffic to your listings.
View more Articles.
Get 250 FREE Business Cards from Vistaprint! Include one in every shipment to promote your brand or site and encourage repeat customers. Vistaprint lets you quickly and easily customize your business cards to ensure buyers will remember you and your 5-star service. Order your FREE business cards today!
News Stories
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Auctiva will support new requirement, which takes effect in July.
eBay is encouraging sellers to begin adding descriptions of their items' condition in their listings—a new requirement that will become mandatory in certain categories by the end of July. Read story.
Do You Know the Way to eBay Stores?
eBay will remove Stores tab from its navigation bar.
Auctiva's Template Library Keeps Growing
Customers get more options to dress up eBay listings.
eBay to Expand Gmarket in Asia
Joint venture will focus on Japan and Singapore.
View all News Stories.
Auctiva Blog
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In the spring of 2009, I had the displeasure of dealing with a buyer I just describe as interesting, to be generous. A year later I'm still dealing with this person.
Every seller, sooner or later, will have to deal with one of these odd creatures. How you handle the situation is a test of patience, maturity, self-control and sanity. Did I mention sanity?
It all started with a question this buyer sent me about an item I had up for auction on eBay. Read story.
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I recently made a purchase on eBay from a seller in Hong Kong, who reminded me of the very first lesson I learned in my college marketing class.
On the first day of the semester (and before introducing himself, taking roll or passing out the course syllabus), the professor asked what was the single most important thing a marketer could do to get people to act.
"Offer an incentive," someone said.
"Make a strong value proposition," another shouted, once it became clear the professor was looking for another answer.
"How about, tell them what you want them to do?" the professor asked. Read story.
View all posts on the Auctiva Blog.
Weird and Wacky Listings
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These e-books will give men a fighting chance if they find themselves in arguments with the women in their lives. The seller emphasizes the "fighting chance" part but says the two books provide men with simple questions and simple answers to "arm" them with knowledge—and prevent them from putting their foot in their mouth during the next bout. You may not win every argument, but you'll "lose less," the seller says.
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Make your marketing campaign stand out by displaying your message on this seller's beer belly. His gut will make the perfect backdrop to promote your blog, product, company, etc. The seller even suggests using his gut for more personal messages, like popping the big question. But no rambling, please—just stick to the 20-word limit.
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If you're a spy at heart, these glasses are just the accessory for you. They allow you to take photos and video in plain sight without anyone ever catching on. And with 8 GB of memory, you can record for up to five hours for those long spying ventures. The lightweight glasses even display the time and date images were recorded so you can later review your evidence to see if you're on the right trail.
Start Your Own e-Store. Keep more of your hard-earned profits in your pocket. Pay no listing fees with Auctiva Commerce and use that money to add new inventory to your shop to keep the cash coming. Auctiva Commerce's integration with Auctiva.com allows you to easily import your Auctiva listings into your Auctiva Commerce Store. Learn more.
Ask Auctiva
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I keep hearing eBay compared to Amazon as a venue for independent sellers. Is this a false dichotomy, or are they really the "Big Two?" How can a seller best determine which to pursue? Senior Product Manager Tony Maxey answers this and other questions from Auctiva customers. Read more here.
Got a burning question about Auctiva, eBay or e-commerce in general? Send an e-mail to "AskAuctiva" at the Auctiva dot com domain. Selected questions will be answered by Auctiva managers and published in an article on the Auctiva Education tab. Read some recent Auctiva Q&A articles here.
Please do not submit inquiries requiring an immediate response. Instead, please file a support request for technical or account-related issues.
View all Ask Auctiva Articles.
Auctiva User Profile
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What began as an experiment inspired by a love of art and vintage T-shirts has grown into a thriving business for Brandy Smith, owner of Zen Threads, which features custom-printed shirts and urban gear.
"I've always had a passion for vintage T-shirts. I'd buy them at thrift stores. I had a huge collection," she muses. "I live in T-shirts." Read story.
Get Featured Here
Got a success story you want to share? What amazing garage sale finds have you turned into monster profits online? How has using Auctiva's free templates and auction management tools improved your eBay business? Drop a line and tell us in 50 words or less about an outstanding e-sale experience, and perhaps we'll feature your story in an upcoming issue of The Online Seller newsletter. Submit your story here.
Auctiva Commerce Store Spotlight
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Buy the Book is like a candy store for bibliophiles, says storeowner Cassandra Vert.
"The books are displayed attractively. It's fun and easy to browse, and there are fun extra features to add to the experience," she notes. "It's not meant to look polished and corporate. I could have hired someone to do that on the Auctiva Commerce template, but I wanted it to look friendlier and more accessible."
Vert says her personality is sprinkled throughout the site. Her inventory comes from books she would read herself. With a wide range of interests, shoppers can find a variety of sci-fi titles, mysteries, thrillers, romance and more—although she admits that she stays away from the thrillers, just a bit.
"My nerves aren't made for that, so I just carry those for other people," she says. Still, every book is special.
"Every title in my store is like a member of an extended family," Vert explains. "When I find authors I love, who give me a great experience, I want to pass that on and promote their books. I carry multiple titles by the same author, especially in series, so if you like one, you can come back for more."
Vert has about 15,000 books, although not all of them have made it into her Auctiva Commerce Store, she admits. So if shoppers don't find what they're looking for in her store, she suggests they contact her. "I may have it in the back," she says.
"I was a reader long before I was a seller. I love to recommend new authors or titles," Vert continues. "Sometimes it's not even a book I have in stock. I can tell you about collecting, what's in print and out of print, whether a certain title was published in a certain format and so on."
Visit Buy the Book.
Set up your own comprehensive Auctiva Commerce Store and get complete freedom over your shop.
Feedback Forum
In response to "eBay Continues Its Steady Climb," one reader writes: "eBay has shown that they are capable of making huge mistakes—Skype for instance. Meg was confident that buyers and sellers would be chatting worldwide on Skype while doing business together. That kind of thinking flies in the face of what doing business online is all about!" Read the entire thread, and post your response.
If you'd like to comment on this newsletter, any article contained within, or on topics you'd like to see us cover in the future, Auctiva editors would love to hear from you. Send us your feedback here.
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